Print

Mail

wiki links

Business Briefs

■ IBM, Bowa join forces
IBM Taiwan said yesterday that it had joined forces with Bowa Bank (寶華銀行), formerly known as Pan Asia Bank (泛亞銀行), to transform the lender's information technology infrastructure. Under the seven-year agreement, IBM will work with Bowa to upgrade its small and medium business financing and personal finance operations, they said in a joint statement, as the financial sector is facing more competition and domestic lenders are focusing on deepening relationships with key clients."Since [Taiwan's] WTO entry, foreign banks have entered the domestic financial services market and brought new financial products and new sales models to the Taiwan market, raising the competitive pressure for local banks," Bowa president Victor Liu (劉維琪) said.

■ Cross-strait trade growing
Taiwan's growing trade reliance on China may create greater risks amid the political tensions between the two sides, according to a report made public by the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. With exports to and imports from China increasing during the past 10 years, Taiwan's foreign trade reliance on China has surged, the bureau report on 1994-2003 structural changes on Taiwan's outbound and inbound shipments said. During the 1994-2003 period, Taiwan's exports to China as a percentage to the country's overall exports rose 8.8 percent, while Taiwan's imports from China as a ratio to its imports expanded 6.4 percent, making China the trading partner with which Taiwan has registered the highest expansion rate in two-way trade.

■ Insurance rules relaxed
The Ministry of Finance granted new access Monday for Taiwan-based insurance companies wishing to edge into China by easing the rules to allow local firms to invest in their Chinese counterparts through shareholding. The rule change has been approved by the Executive Yuan and takes immediate effect, said Chen Wei-lung (陳惟龍), deputy director of the ministry's Department of Insurance. From now on, Taiwan-based insurance companies can invest in their China-based counterparts through buying their shares, Chen said. An annual ceiling of NT$2 billion (US$60.6 million) has been imposed on Taiwanese insurers who wish to do this, in line with requirements set by both Taiwanese and Chinese authorities, he added.

■ New store goes online
To further explore the development potential of the e-commerce market, Uni-President Enterprise Group (統一集團) has integrated its subsidiaries' resources to help people start businesses on the Internet. Yeh Shui-hsing (葉水興), president of Presco Netmarketing Inc (統一數網), unveiled a new online store, Bcity (貝可市場), at a press conference yesterday. This portal can save storeowners complicated application procedures and problems involving goods delivery and payment collection. Yeh said consumers trading on Bcity can make payments and pick up products at the 3,538 7-Eleven outlets nationwide, a guarantee that Internet trading frauds will be less likely to take place. "Within three hours, you can set up your virtual store in our Bcity," Yeh said.

■ NT dollar weakens
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday turned weak against its US counterpart, declining NT$0.020 to close at NT$32.945 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.

Turnover was US$591 million.

This story has been viewed 2016 times.